Markets are riskier than they were a year ago, said Richard Peterson, director of markets, credit and risk strategies at Standard & Poor’s and Sarah Ketterer, portfolio manager at Causeway Capital Management. So how should investors prepare their portfolios in the coming weeks?

President Barack Obama announced plans to send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan in an accelerated deployment aimed at a quicker U.S. exit. Which stocks may see a rise as a result? Howard Rubel, aerospace and defense analyst at Jefferies & Co., and Alex Hamilton, senior analyst at Jesup & Lamont, shared their views.

All twelve of the S&P 500 Aerospace and Defense stocks were trading up this morning on the news that President Obama has decided to expedite the deployment of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. Will the trend continue?

The Fed expressed confidence that a recovery is building—but said it will keep borrowing costs near zero for "an extended period." Is this good news for investors and the markets? Robert Doll, vice chairman and global CIO of equities at BlackRock, shared his insights.

Stocks retreated Tuesday after several earnings reports beat expectations but economic numbers missed their targets. The Dow shed more than 50 points, or 0.5 percent, but still held above 10,000. The S&P and Nasdaq each lost about 0.6 percent.

An advisory committee is set to present the President with his options for NASA after the space shuttle retires, according to reports and...it appears the committee favors outsourcing a lot of future work in space.

The Dow advanced Tuesday as a slew of components beat earnings expectations. But there were pockets of weakness throughout the market, including chips, hardware, banks and retail. The Nasdaq was lower.

The Dow bolted out of the gate Tuesday as a slew of components beat earnings expectations. But there were pockets of weakness throughout the market, including chips, hardware, banks and retail. The Nasdaq was lower.